With Easter just round the corner, the religious side of the holiday starts taking centre stage. Iggy Fenech interviews sacristan Pawlu Zammit and avid participant Alexander Cachia Zammit about the Żejtun Good Friday procession.

As Lent starts drawing to a close, Malta’s devotion towards the most holy period in the liturgical calendar is palpable. In fact, Holy Week, kicking off with Palm Sunday today, has long been a nationwide festival of solemn events at various parishes and churches.

Of course, for the deeply religious, the most important day of the Easter season is Easter Sunday: the day in which the resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated. But that has always been following Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified to purge the sins of all of humanity.

That day is marked by Good Friday processions taking place in a number of villages all over Malta, including Valletta, Naxxar, Żebbuġ, Mosta and Żejtun, and whether you’re religious or not, there is no doubt that they are a feast for the senses.

The organisation that goes into these processions is huge and preparations usually start well over a year before the actual date. As an activity, it brings whole villages together, where old and young work together to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus and showcase the villagers’ hard work.

I got chatting to two people from Żejtun who, together, have a combined experience that spans decades. This is what they had to say.

Pawlu Zammit took part in the Żejtun Good Friday procession for many years before he stopped in 2008. Since then, Pawlu has taken up the role of sacristan of the Żejtun parish church dedicated to St Catherine, which requires him to be one of the main reference points for the organisers.

“When I was younger, the Good Friday procession was one of the events I looked forward to the most but when in 2008 I became the sacristan of the parish church, I had to give up my role in the procession – mostly due to time constraints.

The Żejtun Good Friday procession actually has a very long history, dating back to at least 1742

“What most people might not know is that the Żejtun Good Friday procession actually has a very long history, dating back to at least 1742 when the Fraternity of the Holy Rosary used to organise a smaller procession at this time of the year. We know this from documents in our archives that show that the first statues were based on the second set of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary and that every statue was draped in various kinds of fabrics.

“We have almost no doubt that the procession actually started before then, but, unfortunately, we have no mention of it in any of the documents from before 1742, mostly due to them being lost or burnt or stolen by pirates and the Ottomans.

“Today, Żejtun’s Good Friday procession is a 500-person strong, 12-statue cortège that unites the village and draws in many visitors – both local and foreign – to come and view this solemn spectacle. What we must always keep in mind, however, is that this is a holy procession that aims to evoke a deep and sorrowful feeling and to remind us of what Jesus Christ went through before His resurrection.

“What is most noteworthy is that to take part in this procession you must own one of the liveries yourself or have it lent to you. These liveries come with a sort of membership card, but the person never owns that membership. Thus, it is the livery that owns that membership and the right to be in the procession and never the person.”

Alexander Cachia Zammit has been taking part in the Żejtun Good Friday procession for the past 21 years. His grandfather, ALEXANDER CACHIA ZAMMIT, known affectionately as ‘Sandy’, was the president of the Beland Band Club for 55 years and one of the organisers of the procession.

“I’ve been taking part in Żejtun’s Good Friday procession since 1994. I was five years old then. My first role was that of a Roman boy holding a bunch of grapes and I was at the very front of the procession. Then, between 1995 and 2004, I was one of the altar boys.

“Once I came of age, however, I couldn’t remain an altar boy, so a very good family friend and a renowned organiser of the Żejtun procession asked me if I wanted to have the part of the Roman soldier. I gladly accepted and wore the same costume two years in a row. This year, I’m going to be wearing a costume lent to me by another friend who now carries one of the statues.

I’ve been taking part in Żejtun’s Good Friday procession since 1994 – I was five years old then

“The event is a living example of the dedication of the Żwieten who, every year put all their differences aside and organise such an important and followed event in Malta’s religious and cultural calendars. It is also a great honour to take part in a procession that my family, through the generations, has always given great importance to.

“My grandfather, Sandy, was the president of the Beland Band Club for 55 years and he was the one who introduced me to this procession 21 years ago. Due to his role, but also because of genuine interest, he had an active part in the procession, especially with regards to the band musicians who play the much-loved marċi funebri throughout the whole procession.

“Now that he’s passed away, his memory lives on in the town and I will always remember him walking during the procession. I still admire the fact that even in his later years, he insisted that he’d continue walking at least part of the procession.

“Needless to say, many wonder how a 20-something-year-old such as myself can enjoy something like this, but I can assure you that it is wonderful. It is an indescribable feeling to be a part of an activity that has brought the village of Żejtun together for so many centuries.”

The Żejtun Good Friday procession takes place on April 3.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.